Posts Tagged: Personal Financial Training

Intuitive Spending — Get in control of your finances without budgeting

I want to introduce you to the intuitive spender… But before I do, I want you to meet the intuitive eater (she’s the intuitive spender’s cousin.) The intuitive eater The intuitive eater is someone who’s slender and is in good shape.  She’s able to maintain her physique because she eats when she’s feeling hungry and stops when she’s full. She...

Theory versus taking action with your finances

I’ve always been good at theory. But terrible at taking action. For most of my life, I’d fantasize about what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go in life, but most of the time I never followed through. I was born like that. As far back as I can remember, I always had a huge amount of...

How to get “good” with numbers

“I’m not good with numbers.” Sound familiar? When you talk negatively about yourself — like the example of above — what are you really trying to say? Are you giving yourself an excuse — an exit out from dealing with your finances? By telling yourself that you’re not good with numbers are you really saying you’re not responsible? But what...

Is there a better way to deal with your finances?

Most of us keep our finances to ourselves. Kinda like holding a deck of cards to our chest. I get it — we’re afraid what people think about us. Maybe they’ll think we’re a failure. Or worse, maybe they’ll see that we’re a fake. So, as a result, we end up alone in fear of our finances (and interestingly, you...

3 Reasons Why You SHOULDN’T Cut Up Your Credit Cards

For years I thought about cutting up my credit cards. In the past, I always had six months of unopened credit card bills piled up on my kitchen table — I couldn’t even look at them.  Chugging 6 cups of green juice seemed easier to stomach then opening those envelopes.  I’m glad those debt-ridden days are a thing of the...

4 Ways to Knock Out Debt

I wasn’t built be a professional wrestler.  Not like my high school buddy Anthony — aka “Santino Marella” — who become the WWE Intercontinental Champion.   He’s like a brick wall and I’m just a skinny guy with a big beard.  He bodyslams 300-pound men and I couldn’t hurt a fly.  But we have one thing in common:  We both...

How getting stuck in a wheelchair helped me stick to a budget…

Becomin’ Hip in Brooklyn Eight years ago I ended up in a wheelchair for 6 weeks. Here’s what happened… One day out of the blue my hip started killing me. I was walking like a penguin. I’m usually good at “pushin’ through the pain” but it was so bad we cancelled our weekend getaway to the in-laws. BTW, this wasn’t...

A letter to my younger self: Financial lessons I’ve learned along the way

Dear me, many years ago, Well, it finally happened; I got old. I hit the big 7-0 last week, and it has me thinking about times gone by, about mistakes I’ve made and regrets I hold. Looking back on my life – on our life – I wonder what I could have done differently to protect myself from the financial...

Budgeting and forecasting: How to get on track and reach your financial destination

When it comes to finances, it’s easy to feel lost. We all know we need some kind of budget, but we aren’t always sure where to begin. Many people start by categorizing their expenses in a spreadsheet or computer program (like Mint.com or Quicken), hoping to figure out where they’re going wrong. The problem is, simply organizing/plugging in numbers won’t...

Six spending personalities that can wreak havoc on your finances

Chosen best of the web by Globe and Mail personal finance columnist Rob Carrick Overspending is a common problem for many people; it creates debt, anxiety and relationship problems, even among high income earners. All too often, people’s spending habits seem to rise to meet – and exceed – their incomes. So why does this happen? What compels people to...